Around the Corner
by Elliebunk
Summary: REVISED. Willow and Oz meet again in Istanbul. Set three years after Buffy S.7. Based on Willow and Oz's goodby talk in 'New Moon Rising'.


_AN/: I hadn't liked how it some of the story went before, so I fixed it up a bit and corrected the typos. Hope you like it._

**Disclaimer: If you saw it in the show, it's not mine.**

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"_It was stupid of me to think you'd just be waiting."_

"_I was waiting. I feel like some part of me will always be waiting for you. Like, if I'm old and blue-haired and I turn the corner in Istanbul and there you are- I won't be surprised. Because you're with me- you know?"_

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Willow walked down the busy streets Istanbul; on both sides of her there were throngs of people- selling goods, talking to their friends, making their way home, just _living._ She still couldn't believe how much things had changed. For ten years- since she was sixteen, she had been fighting. She hadn't had it forced on her, like Buffy had; she had chosen it. And now, she was done.

The council was up and running, Giles seated firmly at it's head, the Slayers were found and now fighting, any Hellmouths were guarded, and Willow now could rest. She had moved to Istanbul, as far away from the supernatural as possible. It was strange, not having to worry about all of the impending doom anymore. Thanks to the coven and a few choice psychics, courtesy of Angel, there were other people to turn to for things of the magic-y variety. They could reach her of they needed her, but for now, the only thing she had to worry about was herself. It was supposed to be nice, but now she had nothing, no use. She hated that, but things weren't the same anymore, there was nothing to go back to.

Willow kept walking, almost home. She turned the corner to her apartment, and there he was.

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They stood, staring at each other for a few moments.

Willow smiled tremulously. "Well, maybe I was a little wrong to say I wouldn't be surprised." She joked nervously.

Oz smiled a little, remembering. "I gotta say, it's easier this way. I don't know if you'd look the same with blue hair."

Willow hesitantly reached out to hug him, feeling a little awkward. That feeling disappeared the moment their arms were around each other. He was still Oz. He still felt the same, felt _right._ If she could've seen the look of contentment on his face, something he hadn't felt since leaving her all those years ago, she would have seen he felt the same.

They pulled apart, their arms still entwined. Willow looked at him in awe. "W-what are you doing here? What've you been up to ? How are you?" She asked quickly, her questions running together.

Oz gave her one of his Oz-patented looks. "I've been pretty good-traveling a lot. I'm actually just passing through here. I come my once or twice a year, just to visit. I've been spending most of my time teaching other werewolves, helping them control the wolf and all that. How've you been?"

Willow looked at him, her eyebrows almost touching her hair. "Apparently, you dropped the stoicism somewhere along the way. That was like, almost fifty words or something, all at the same time."

Oz smiled at her. "Well, it turns out that when you're teaching a bunch of people, you sometimes have to talk to them. I've become quite a chatterbox."

Willow laughed at the thought. "So how's Sunnydale? You still there?" He asked, hoping for news about his old home.

Willow looked at him sadly. "We need to talk. I live right up this road, if you wanna come up. I'll make some tea, tell you all the news-"

"Willow, what's wrong?" Oz asked worriedly, stepping closer to her.

"It's gone."

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Oz sat in his chair, stunned. He set his cup on the coffee table between him and Willow. She had just spent the last two hours filling him in on everything that had happened –from the time he left up to the destruction of Sunnydale- and she still had so mush more to say.

"So, you really mean gone, huh? I guess this is what I get for not watching the news." He finally said.

"Are you okay? I know it's a lot to take in at once." Willow asked him.

Oz nodded. "I'm good. How 'bout you? Trying to destroy the world, Buffy dying, Tara, This Kennedy chick breaking up with you; it's a lot." She shrugged.

"I'm fine. No more dead Buff. I still sometimes miss Tara, but I'm good now. And Kennedy… Kennedy was a mistake. But that's done too. Actually, out of all of us, I think it was hardest on Buffy."

"Really? Because of Spike?"

Willow nodded. "None of us really thought it was that serious, but it was. She loved him, maybe more that she loved Angel. When she lost him, she broke. It took a long time to get her back, but she got better. Them she heard he was alive, and then found out he had moved on… She kinda broke again. Now all she does is slay, train. She's not Buffy anymore."

Oz looked a little bewildered. "This is still weird to me. Last I knew, Spike and Buffy hated each other; now they're old lovers who might actually be kicking the _'Eternal love of Buffy and Angel show'_ off the air? Weird. And who was the girl he's with now? She's not a Scooby, is she?"

Willow shook her head. "No, she's one of Angel's people, her name's Fred. They got together when she was trying to find a way to make Spike corporeal after he came back. I-I've met her; she's actually pretty nice- kinda nerdy- actually, she's a bit like me, but smarter. And you know-not so witchy. It drove Angel nuts that they got together and it killed Buffy. She kinda though he'd wait forever I think, but he couldn't. I can understand why he had to move on though. He didn't think she really loved him, and he didn't want to come back and ruin her new life. It's actually thoughtful."

"Hmm." Replied Oz, absorbed in thought. He tapped his fingers on the table.

"So, the cute nerd and the see-through vamp. It's like 'Ghost' meets some generic teen movie. We could make millions."

"Huh, I guess we could. I'll get on the screenplay ASAP." Willow joked tensely. She leaned forward on the couch and looked down at her hands.

"Um, Xander left too. He's somewhere in Africa, killing demons. He's been doing it since Anya died; he couldn't get over it."

"Poor guy. Strangely, I've missed him. It sucks that he had to go through that; losing someone you love like he did- it changes you."

They both grew silent, aware of the topic now at hand. Willow cleared her throat.

"So, have you been seeing anyone? A ice shape shifter or a nymph, maybe?" she joked, half afraid of his answer. He stared at her intently, like he used to do.

"No, not since you. How bout you? You find a nice, normal girl anywhere?"

Willow smiled nervously. "No. I've dated some, but it never worked out. Besides, I've never done the normal thing. Um, so why haven't you dated? You travel too much, or haven't been looking, or-"

"I'm still in love with you."

Willow sat silent, staring at him. Oz stood up and walked over to the couch where she sat. She looked at him as he sat down next to her. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes.

"I know you've moved on. I know that I'm not what you're looking for anymore; you tend to lean towards people of the female variety now. But I needed to tell you. You're still the reason for everything." He looked down, not wanting to see her as she broke his heart again.

Willow touched his arm, not speaking for a moment. She closed her eyes, gathering herself, knowing now is the time to admit everything she hasn't wanted to believe. With a sight, she started speaking.

"Ever since you left me, I've been looking for you. I'd find different people who had parts of you in them, and I'd latch on, hoping they were what I needed. They never were, and I'd just end up hurting every time because they weren't Oz. Tara had your sweetness, and your understanding, but she was also Tara. I loved that. I loved her, but as a person, not a woman. I loved her soul. Like I love yours."

Oz looked up at her, wondering. "Was that last sentence supposed to be in the present- tense like that?" He asked.

Willow nodded. "You're not the kind of guy a girl just forgets about. You stay with her forever, and she stays in love with you, no matter what."

Oz reached up and touched her face, her hair. "Same to you. You're not someone you just stop loving. Once you fall, it lasts a lifetime." He murmured. "But I think I already said that."

Willow hadn't felt the same since he had left. Like a part of her was there, but another part, the better- happier part, had left with him.

But now, as he leaned forward and kissed her, his lips warm against her skin, finding her mouth; as she wrapped her arms around him and swore to never let go, she felt whole again.

_-end-_


End file.
